Landforms of South America

The Paraguay River is South America's fifth-largest river, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. From the Brazilian state of Mato Grasso to its confluence with the Paraná River in Argentina, it serves as part of the Paraguayan border with Argentina as well as with Brazil.

The Paraná River is the second longest river in South America. Running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina, it becomes an alluvial basin before emptying into the Río de la Plata. The Paraná Delta consists of several islands known as the Islas del Paraná.

Located between the Serra da Bocaina mountain range and the Atlantic Ocean, this cultural and natural landscape includes the historic center of Paraty, the island of Ilha Grande as well as four protected natural areas of the Atlantic Forest, one of the world's key biodiversity hotspots.

The Patagonian Desert, also known as the Patagonian Steppe, is a semiarid scrub plateau that covers nearly all of the southern portion of mainland Argentina. It is the largest desert in Argentina and is bounded by the Patagonian Andes and the country of Chile to the west.

The Peru–Chile Trench, also known as the Atacama Trench, is an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru and Chile. It delineates the boundary between the subducting Nazca Plate and the overriding South American Plate.

The Peruvian Andes, part of the greater Andes system of South America, are formed by three main cordilleras that traverse the entire country. The Sierra natural region features fertile river valleys, high plains, deep canyons and the Altiplano plateau.

The Purus River, which rises in Peru, is a tributary of the Amazon River. The river flows through the Amazon Rainforest until it merges with the Solimões-Amazon River upstream from Manaus, Brazil. The river, which is highly meandering, has huge floodplains and is flanked by numerous lakes near its shores.

Quebrada de Humahuaca, a natural valley corridor in northwestern Argentina, has been used over the past 10,000 years as a passage for the transport of people and ideas from the high Andean lands to the plains. Its settlements and field systems form a dramatic addition to the outstanding landscape.

Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park spans over 34,000 acres in northwestern Costa Rica and helps protect both montane forests and dwarf cloud forests. Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, an active andesitic complex volcano, is set within the park and is one of six active Costa Rican volcanoes.

Río de la Plata is a tapering intrusion of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of South America between Uruguay to the north and Argentina to the south. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The Rio de La Plata drainage basin is bounded by the Brazilian Highlands, the Andes Mountains and Patagonia.